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Top 5s

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go to myTop
5s Page - links to my top five recommendations
in every category from Breastfeeding Sites to Urban Living
Solutions.

hip Angel

boyz in the hood

From time to time I’m approached by
different companies asking if I’d promote their product on my
website; as my website readership grows I guess I become more of a
blip on the radar of different publicity machines. At any rate, I
toss most of those requests in the garbage, not finding it
necessary to give someone else free publicity unless I really love
their product and want to support the (usually parent-based)
company behind it.

Last week, though, I was contacted by a company hoping I’d
put the word out about casting for a new reality television show
that sounds interesting. Before you roll your eyes (as I did before
I read the thing) just check out the details – you know
I’m not going to pass it on if it doesn’t sound
somewhat legit. Basically, they’re casting a new cooking show
and seeking really really BAD cooks for a two-week boot camp with a
celebrity chef. So if you’re in New York and suck at cooking
and wanna be on t.v., follow the details and let me know if you
make it on. Here ya go, and remember that I have no affiliation
with this company whatsoever and make no guarantees that they are
legit:

In keeping with my effort to be deliberate
about our traditions and what they teach our kids, I’ve
started a new one this year based on the typical Advent calendar
– you know, those paper things with windows to open and
pictures to see which help you count down to Christmas.

Last year I knew I wanted to find a permanent Advent calendar we
could re-use every year, becoming part of our family traditions. I
wanted a religious one, rather than a “hang a new present on
the Christmas tree” type of calendar or toy. I finally found
one that fit the bill at Constructive Playthings; with my
cheapskate patience, I waited until after Christmas and bought it
on sale for this year.

Dear Family Members (specifically Gamma,
who’s been hassling me for the last few months that there are
no new photos up on the website for her to show off at work):

I’ve finally updated the photo galleries here at 1M2A, which
means you can now see Maddie in something more recent than a
Christmas shot. To view the newest photos, click on whatever random
photo is currently on your screen. That’ll take you to the
photo gallery. Once in the gallery, no matter what picture
you’ve clicked on you’ll see the last photo listed on
the left – number 241, “window gazing”. The
photos numbered in chronological order, so that’s from the
most recent batch. Clicking on that will take you to the end of the
line and you can browse from there.

Of course, I’ve also updated “Maddie’s
Friends”, mostly with pictures of her and her main hang,
Naomi, so those are worth viewing as well.

So enjoy the new pics and show them around the office to your
heart’s content. Happy now?

First, if you don’t like chocolate, I’ll see you in a
couple days. Best to stop reading now.

Second, this research was done as a service to you, the readers. I
didn’t conduct it as an excuse to eat a lot of chocolate.

Ok, that second one may not be entirely true. But moving to the
point of this article –

I’m an admitted chocoholic. Worse than that, I’m a
snobby one – I love those expensive, dark chocolates with
fancy names and ridiculously high cocoa contents. When I was
pregnant with Madeleine, I remember being shocked and dismayed that
I spent my whole first trimester NOT WANTING CHOCOLATE. Honestly, I
thought it’d be the worst part of the pregnancy; how could I
be robbed of one of my biggest joys? But no matter how I tried, the
thought of chocolate didn’t get me excited.

Several weeks ago, Jen asked me if I would guest blog for her while she, Maddie and Brian went on vacation. Jen, I hope that you are all getting some much-needed rest. Maddie, that means you need to sleep, too.